Printing process and apparatus



Dec. 21 1926.

J. N. NIELSEN PRlNTING PROCESS AND APPARATUS Filed Jan. 14, 1921 2' Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor.-

Dec. 21 1926.

Filed Jan. 14.,1921 Sheets-Sheet 2 WWW ill

lhven tor Patented Dec. 21, 1926.

UNITED STA ES PATENT'KOF JOSEPH v. vmnsmv, or CHICAGO, rumors.

PRINTING rnbnss AND Ar'rARA'rUs.

This invention relates to a printing process and an apparatus therefor wherein use is made of separable characters for setting up matter.

Setting up matter in type has maintained itself in universal" use 1011 account of its adaptability. It has a serious disadvantage, however, in that very size of a character requires its own type. Another disadvantage lies in the laborious and difficult formation of arrangement of type for formulae and the like usuallyi requiring special cuts. In addition, after setting up, the type must be carefully leveled and handled so that every character malges the right impression in printing.

While matter in plate form is not subject to the careful and tedious handling for printing, it requires an extensive series of operations, and the'same amount of care and labor in the setting up of type as with type set up for direct printing. It does not then obviate the.disadvantage' residing in the separable type and the use of plates is restricted to occasions where several printing elements of the same matter are required.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide a process and apparatus wherein the advantages residing in separable type are retained, wherein special matter, illustrations'and the like may be readily inserted, and wherein the tedious and careful handling to which type are subject is obviated.

Inanother aspect the invention contemplates as'ob ects, a. process and apparatus, providing a printing element in plate form, and obviating much of the manipulation which the preparation *of such an element entails.

These and other objects will be apparent hereinafter. l

The process consists essentially in using separable characters, arranging them in de-- sired formation on a holdingdevice, and photographing the assembled characters. Since the characters are photographed, they need not be raised or depressed from the surface, but may be drawn, printed or otherwise delineated on the surface. In addition,

desired size being accomplished in the photographing.

The characters are preferably made in C t c on a dark background and the it is not necessary to have them reversed as light color,

-App1ication filed January 14, 1921. Serial No. 437,223.

prepared by phot sitized gelatine.

ographing directly in sen- An apparatus for producing a surface to be photographed is shown in ing drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a paratus;

the accompanyperspective view of the ap- Fig. 2 is a top view of a character;

and

Fig. 3 is a side View of a character; Fig. 4 1s an eleva I ion of a spacer. Fig. 5 is a section on'line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an illustration showing several 1 features of the invention. k i

The apparatus consists of a base or board 10 on which are mounted bars 11. Each. of these bars may bemovably secured a'spring clip as 12 (Fig. 1)

to'the board by or by a screw 13 an end 14. of the bar and through a slot 15 (Fig.

5) passing through of the board to engages nut 16 held to a groove 17 in the board, Elongation of the. slot 15 permits adjustment of thebar. The bars are undercut as at 18, Fig. 1.

a For use with the board separable characters 19 are provided;as shown in Figs. 2 and Each of these comprises a shank 20 with an extended upper plate 21 and flanges 22 at the lower end. The shanks fit-between the bars and the flanges engage the undercut portions of the bars. The shank bar has grooves 23 which may be variously formedfor use in a distributing machine.

gether' as desired. a

For positioning the characters, spacers 24 are provided. As shown in Fig. 5, they are formed with spring legs 25 which friction. b t. n si i i d, th h n m ally engage the bars and are preferably dark colored. They are made of varlous wldths for justifying purposes. haracters are photographed, 110

The character is formed on the upper surface of the plate. The

I 1plate may be given. any contour so that the e aracters will fit toholding device is also made dark. By this in ordinary type, but the .characters are set means it is possible to photograph 0a,. up' .as,1n ordlnary reading matter as shown in part 26 of Fig. 6. If any illustration or formula or the like is to be inserted, blank bars or blocks are inserted, on which the illustration is delineated, as by drawing directly thereon, or if the illustration be already prepared, by pasting or otherwise securing a negative copy 27 of right size, showing White lines on dark ground. In addition to the characters, a deslgn or tracery 28 interweaving the characters, may be drawn on the assembled characters before photograplr The board may be made'large enough so that several pages may be set up and photographed simultaneously. The resulting plate may be used as a single plate or divided into portions or pages.

The light colored characters make possible the direct photographing on the sensitized plate or gelatine to be used in printing, avoiding the preparation of a negativeand the making of a positive therefrom. The use of a prism in front of the camera lens secures a reversal of the image on the plate, when that is desired.

Matter of different ;size type, to be inserted, may be first set up and photographed. From this another photograph 29 of right size giving White characters on a black background is prepared, and pasted or otherwise secured in its proper place in the assembled matter. 1

I claim,

1. 'A process of obtaining a printing element, which consists in assembling characters, inserting'blanks on whose surfaces spe- 3. A surface structure which consists of elements carrying characters and blank elements for the reception of special matter, the whole assemblage of elements constituting substantially. a surface upon which additional matter may be placed.

4. A surface structure which consists of members and elements carrying characters spaced by The members, the members also forming a connecting means between the characters so. as to present a substantially unified appearance.

5. An apparatus for use in obtaining a printing. element lfaving in combination,

separable characters, a member, and bars mounted on the member for holding thev characters. said characters having flat surfaces overlying the bars.

6. An apparatus for -use in obtaining a printing element having in combination separable characters, a member, and bars ad- I justably mounted on the member for holding the characters whereby the spacing may .be .altered.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOSEPH N. NIELSEN. 

